If you are looking for a lawyer to deal with squatters in Barcelona because someone has entered your property without permission, you need to act urgently. Occupation of your property is deeply frustrating, but taking the law into your own hands can rebound on you very quickly. Here is how to proceed safely.
1. The biggest mistake: acting on your own
If you find intruders in your property, never change the locks, cut off the electricity or water, or try to remove them by force.
In the eyes of the law, doing so makes you the perpetrator of an offence of coercion. Before making any hasty decision, take advice. The system requires a specific legal route, and it differs sharply depending on whether they entered your home or second residence — treated as unlawful entry into a dwelling — or an unoccupied property, which is the lesser offence of usurpation.
2. A three-step guide
To speed up eviction and stop the occupiers becoming established, follow this route:
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Step 1: call the police immediately. If you discover the intrusion while it is happening, the police can remove the occupiers directly without waiting for a court order.
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Step 2: produce your documents. If the police attend, show them the title deeds, your municipal registration or recent bills to prove it is your property, relying on the protection of the Criminal Code.
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Step 3: start proceedings. If the police route does not work, your lawyer will need to file a fast-track civil possession claim or a criminal complaint so that a judge orders the eviction without delay.
3. Unlawful entry or usurpation: why it matters
One of the first things your lawyer will assess is which offence has been committed, because that determines how fast the eviction can be. The law distinguishes two situations:
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Unlawful entry into a dwelling: where squatters enter your home or your second residence. Here the law is far stricter, because your constitutional rights to privacy and to your home are being breached. Judges tend to act much faster, ordering interim eviction almost immediately.
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Usurpation of property: where they occupy a property that is entirely empty, uninhabited or not in active residential use — a flat you have just inherited and not yet furnished, or one you have on the market. As it does not count as a dwelling, the process is usually slower and has to run through the civil or criminal courts to judgment.
4. Why you need a specialist
The difference between recovering your property in weeks and being stuck for years lies in how the claim is drafted. A small error in classifying the property will stall the whole process. Your lawyer will identify the faster route — civil or criminal — and apply for the interim measures needed to force urgent judicial intervention.
5. Conclusion: get your peace of mind back
Time is your worst enemy in an occupation case. The right advice is what allows the correct claim to be filed, keeps you from committing an offence out of desperation, and gets an eviction order as soon as possible.
Request legal advice in Barcelona
Do not let intruders become established in your property. We will review your title documents, decide the fastest legal route and file the claim urgently. Our office is at Calle Balmes 188, Barcelona.
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Phone: +34 611 647 462
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Email: info@diariodeunabogado.es
